Improvement in railway car-springs



A'. MIDDLETON, jr.

Improvement in Railway-Car Springs.

No, 129,155, lPalfentealJulyi,1872.

UNITED STATES PATENT OEEICE.

ALLEN MIDDLEToN, JE., or PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

IMPROVEMENT IN RAILWAY CAR-SPRINGS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 129,155, dated July 16, 1872.

' Specification describing an Improvement in Car-Springs, invented by ALLEN MIDDLETON, J r., of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Improvement in Car-Springs.

My invention relates to that class of carsprings in which groups of coiled wires are used as the elastic medium; and my invention consists in the combination, with such coils, of certain movable sockets adapted to and forming bearings for the ends of the coils, and otherwise constructed as described hereafter, the said sockets enabling me to dispense with the costly plan of cutting and facing the ends of the coils.

In the drawing, Figure l is a vertical section of a railroad car-spring containing my invention; Fig. 2, a view of part of one of the spiral springs and its socket; and Fig. 3, a perspective view ofthe cover ofthe spring inverted.

Ais abox, within one end of which a cover, B, is arranged to slide freely, the box and cover being so connected together by a bolt, D, that a number of coiled wires-four in the present instance-will be confined between them. In making springs of this class' it has been usual to cut ott' and face the ends ofthe coiled wires-as, for instance, on the line ao as, Fig. 2-so as to adapt each end of the'coil to a plane surface. This facing of the ends of the Wire coils demands special machinery, and is a tedious and expensive operation, to obviate which is the object of my invention. I permit each spring to retain its inclined and abrupt terminations, and use a socket, E, having an inclined and curved recess adapted to the said end of the coiled Wire, the socket thus forming an appropriate bearing for the sprin g.

In applying the wire coils and their sockets to the abovedescribed box, both the bottom of the box and cover may be provided with as of the box, and the other end fitting into inclined and curved recesses nia-de directly in the cover, the two coils H H in Fig. l being arranged in this manner, while the two remaining coils are fitted at both ends to sockets. I prefer, however, to use sockets at both ends of all the coils.

Although I have illustrated and described my invention as applied to box-springs, it should be understood that it is applicable to any springs in which'groups of coiled wires are used.

I claim as my invention- 1. The combination, with coiled springs, of movable sockets adapted to the ends of the said springs, substantially as set forth.

2. The combination of said springs and sockets, with pins or their equivalents, for permitting the sockets to turn, and for maintaining both sockets and coils in their proper lateral position.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses. i

ALLEN MIDDLETON, JR.

Witnesses:

JOHN GLEAsoN, WM. J. WATSON. 

